LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Oscar-winning South African star Charlize Theron is
making fur fly in Hollywood by joining a campaign against the use of
animal pelts in fashion.

The 29-year-old star, who picked up the best actress Oscar earlier this
year for her role as a serial killer in "Monster," will soon star in a
billboard advertisement slamming the animal cruelty caused by the fur
industry.

"If You Wouldn't Wear Your Dog, Please Don't Wear Any Fur," reads the
billboard that is plastered over a huge photograph of the blond beauty
hugging her pet pooch, Tucker.

Theron has joined a long-running campaign against furs waged by animal
rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which
picked Theron in a drive to persuade other celebrities that fur is best
left on its original owners.

"It doesn't make sense to me to let animals suffer for fashion," Theron
said, crediting her love for animals to her upbringing on a South
African farm.

PETA releases an annual list of the best and worst dressed celebrities
based on whether or not they wear furs.

This year, pop diva Diana Ross and embattled domestic guru Martha
Stewart (news - web sites) were at the top of PETA's list of shame, Ross
for having "stooped to taking free furs in exchange for modelling" for
celebrity designer Dennis Basso, and Stewart for wearing a chinchilla
fur scarf in public.